SCHALK: Improve business tax climate

N.J. tax plan for e-cigarettes, online sales is bad policy

12:41 AM,
Apr. 16, 2014

New Jersey has proposed increasing taxes on electronic cigarettes by 75 percent to help balance the state's budget. It has sparked protests from convenience stores who say it will cut into their own sales.

Written by

Lee Schalk

While some of his colleagues in other states have recently pushed and signed tax cuts into law, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's latest budget takes a troubling detour from the generally sensible path on taxes and spending his previous proposals have tried to follow.

First, the good news: There are no income tax hikes on high earners, nor are there gasoline tax increases - which Democratic lawmakers throughout the state had requested.

The not-so-good news: Christie, despite his claims to the contrary, has proposed at least one outright tax increase. ...